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Rockford business owners adjust to E. coli contamination, some wonder about 'late' warning

Allison DeBraber of Rockford holds her son, Oskar, while boiling a pot of water for dishes on Thursday, September 5, 2013. E. coli has been detected in the City of Rockford's water system, and the city of Rockford has issued a boil-water notice.
(Emily Zoladz | Mlive.com)

Seth Rivard, a co-owner of Rockford Brewing Company on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013. E. coli has been detected in the City of Rockford's water system and many restaurants have had to close due to the city's boil-water notice.Emily Zoladz | Mlive.com

"I had a lady came in earlier who had no idea. She asked, 'Why is everything shut down?'" said Webber, owner of Grand Cakes Cafe. "You can't blame anyone but the officials."

Webber threw away cookies and other treats she made prior to the notification going out. She said she didn't want to distribute a contaminated product or take chances, not knowing what the product contained.

Health officials advised her to use a cleaning solution to wash her dishes.

Webber looked at her hands and brought them to her face: "Smells like bleach," she said.

Testing the water and keeping residents up-to-speed on results should be a daily job, no matter if it's a weekend or holiday, Webber said.

"It's like feeding a dog," she said. "The dog will get hungry during the weekend and if you're leaving, you have make sure someone is going to check on it."

People took to the city's Facebook page to express their frustration over the delay in water testing. Posts garnered more than 50 comments and some allege the city dropped the ball while claiming they know people — or themselves — who feel ill.

Sara Goulet, a waitress at Vitale's Pizza, said the restaurant has been running without any problems with bottled water and 2-liter pop bottles on hand. They've been boiling water before using it to prep food, including cooking pasta.

Health officials advise people to bring water to a "rolling boil" for at least a minute before using it.

"That's what we're supposed to do, and that's what we do anyway," Goulet said.

At least 30 food establishments — including school kitchens, which are closed Thursday — are under the watch of the health department. Those few that have stayed open continuously are monitored to ensure food safety during the advisory, said Lisa LaPlante, spokeswoman with the Kent County Health Department.

Volunteers have been passing out free bottled water to residents who need it. Fourteen pallets, in addition to seven that were distributed last night, will be delivered later today, said Jan Barger, a volunteer with the city's public safety department.

Seth Rivard, a co-owner of Rockford Brewing Company, said he the business had to close Wednesday afternoon and missed out on some of the crowds. Rivard declined to put a dollar amount on the loss, but said it "definitely wasn't a positive."

Luckily for him, Department of Agriculture officials gave approval for Rivard to be creative and reopen for full service at 5 p.m. Thursday, featuring a live band.

"We're going to be using our brewing equipment to sterilize water, which is kind of funny," said Rivard.

Andrew Krietz covers breaking and general police/fire news for MLive | The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at akrietz@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.